Princes and artists: patronage and ideology at four Habsburg courts, 1517-1633

Kirjeldus

ISBN: 9780500276235
Aasta: 1991
Kirjastus: Thames & Hudson
Autor(id): H. R. Trevor-Roper
Kirjeldus: Pub 1991. 160 in Thames & Hudson Analyses the Hapsburg patronage of art through the careers of the Emperor Charles V. Philip II of Spain. the Emperor Rudolf II in Prague and ‘the Archdukes’ of the Netherlands. The artists themselves included Durer. Titian. el Greco and Rubens.

Trevor-Roper explores the curious relationship between Hapsburg sovereigns and artists. Alongside such, a more general historic trend is revealed. Charles V courts various artists cultivating a renaissance humanism, then suddenly abdicates and takes it all home, just as the climate is changing, the Counter-Reformation soon staunching such exuberance. The section on Philip II and Titian was interesting, especially given my recent time with Parker’s lengthy treatment of the “cold bigot.” The lesson of El Greco and others was to ignore Philip’s requests and stay away from the long reach of the Inquisition whenever possible. The antipode of such severe austerity was Rudolf II and Prague, the monarch moving the capital from Vienna to Bohemia, Rudolf appeared driven by human inquiry. The exercise concludes in Antwerp, the 30 Year War underway and the seismic fissures in the Hapsburg house beyond repair. This is a well written affair, though a thin one. The plates proved effective, especially Durer’s engraving of Erasmus, which I admit to being unfamiliar.